The Best Halloween Festivals in the Country That Scream Fun

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There's plenty to love about October — scenic drives through stellar foliage, fun fall festivals, and pumpkin picking with the fam. But for many, October is all about Halloween. Here are the best Halloween-themed festivals to celebrate the spooky season, so get your costume ready!

Festival of the Dead — Salem, Massachusetts

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Salem knows its witches, so expect this town to brew up plenty of spooky events in the run-up to Halloween. Its month-long Festival of the Dead features graveyard conjurings, séances, magic circles, and psychic readings, culminating with the Salem Witches' Halloween Ball on Oct. 26 and a Salem Witches' Magic Circle on Halloween itself.

The Blaze — Croton-on-Hudson, New York

Tom Nycz

Haven't yet seen The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze (aka The Blaze)? Make this the year! Located in Westchester's Van Cortlandt Manor, this wildly popular annual Halloween event (its runs Oct. 4 through 31 and most of November) features thousands of hand-carved jack-o'-lanterns lit up in intricate designs, such as spiderwebs and dragons.

Suwannee Hulaween Festival — Live Oak, Florida

Suwannee Hulaween

The Suwannee Hulawee Festival takes place Oct. 26 through 28 in Live Oak, between Jacksonville and Tallahassee. Located in Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, this Halloween-inspired camping festival (come in costume!) features performances by the jam band String Cheese Incident and spooky large-scale art installations.

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Owl-O-Ween Hot Air Balloon Festival — Kennesaw, Georgia

The Owl-O-Ween Hot Air Balloon Festival, about an hour drive from Atlanta, is a family-friendly Halloween festival that features hot air balloons (tethered rides are available), multiple stages for entertainment, trick-or-treating for the kids, costume showdowns, food vendors, and more. This year's festival takes place Oct. 19 through 20.

Jack-O'-Lantern Spectacular — Louisville, Kentucky

Jack-O'-Lantern Spectacular

You'll want to snap lots of photos of the hand-carved and hand-painted pumpkins along this walking trail in Louisville's Iroquois Park at the annual Jack-O'-Lantern Spectacular. This Halloween celebration (Oct. 9 through Nov. 4) features some 5,000 illuminated jack-o'-lanterns along the easygoing quarter-mile route.

VooDoo Fest — New Orleans, Louisiana

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You can bet that New Orleans has plenty of cool events leading up to Halloween, and one of the biggest festivals in the Big Easy is VooDoo Fest, which takes place Oct. 26 through 28 (Mumford & Sons, Childish Gambino, and Arctic Monkeys are this year's headliners). While you're in town, be sure to feast on some Cajun and Creole cuisine.

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Pony Express PumpkinFest — St. Joseph, Missouri

The Pony Express PumpkinFest (love that name!) is a fun, family-friendly event taking place Oct. 12 through 14 in St. Joseph. On opening night, get into a festive Halloween mood while watching the lighting of 1,000 jack-o'-lanterns, which is quite the sight! You'll also find plenty of rides, food, storytelling, and a costume parade.

New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival — Laconia, New Hampshire

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Taking place Oct. 12 through 13 in Laconia, a midsized city in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, is the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival is an idyllic kick-off to the Halloween season. Check out its famous 34-foot pumpkin-lined tower, carve your own jack-o'-lantern, take a horse-drawn hay ride, and enjoy kiddie rides and games.

Halloween Horror Nights — Orlando, Florida

While not a festival, the Halloween Horror Nights that take place throughout the month of October at Universal Orlando, are becoming a major must-do around Halloween. Be be warned: This isn't for the faint of heart. You'll walk through numerous "scare zones," where all manner of monsters, zombies, and ghouls will menace, scare, and spook you.

Emma Crawford Coffin Race & Festival — Manitou Springs, Colorado

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If you prefer your Halloween festivals on the quirky side, head to the Emma Crawford Coffin Race & Festival. Taking place on Oct. 27, this event is held in honor of Emma Crawford, a 19th-century woman buried atop Red Mountain and whose spirit is said to haunt the area. Watch dozens of costumed teams race makeshift coffins (the more creative, the better) down Manitou Avenue.

Terror on Tillson Street — Romeo, Michigan

Tom Ross

Tillson Street in Romeo, Michigan (an hour's north of Detroit) is famous for its houses decorated with over-the-top Halloween displays. This free event takes place the last two weeks of October, and trick or treating is allowed on Halloween from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. It's definitely worth it to see these "haunted houses" done up with ghouls, ghosts, gravestones, and more.

Sleepy Hollow Halloween Festival — Sleepy Hollow, New York

Tom Nycz

This charming Westchester town (named after Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) really comes alive in the lead-up to Halloween. During the spooky Horseman's Hollow event, you follow a path through the woods, where you'll encounter ghosts, witches, goblins, and, of course, the headless horseman himself. There are also Halloween-inspired events at Irving's mansion in Tarrytown called Sunnyside.

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Jill FergusTravel EditorJill has been the travel editor at BestProducts.com since 2017, showing her expertise on everything from the Best Rooftop Bars in NYC to the 30 Most Beautiful Cities in the World; the NYC native has previously worked at Travel & Leisure and has written articles for The New York Times, InStyle, Huffington Post, and Fodors.